Pertussis Vaccine Type | Usage | Precautions | Side Effects

Pertussis Vaccine Type | Usage | Precautions | Side Effects

  • Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is caused by Bordetella pertussis – a gram-negative bacteria transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets.
  • Clinically the disease is characterized by persistent cough with a characteristic inspiratory ‘whoop’. Children are the commonly infected population. In adults it can cause chronic cough usually without the characteristic whooping sound, called the ‘hundred day cough.’

Pertussis Vaccine


  • Pertussis vaccine is given in combination with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines as DTaP and Tdap.
    See Tetanus immunization for details.

Precautions


  • See Tetanus Immunization.
  • Pertussis vaccine can cause neurologic problems in some recipients, such people are advised to receive pertussis-free combinations of vaccines like DT and Td for prevention against tetanus and diphtheria